NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The storied history of the Lipscomb-Belmont rivalry that has played out over 130 games is set to pen a new chapter on Friday night, as the two closest rivals in the nation face off against each other as non-conference opponents for the first time in the NCAA Division I era.

The “Battle of the Boulevard” renews at 6:30 p.m. from Allen Arena with an ESPN3 broadcast featuring George Plaster and Justin Seamon on the call. The 131st meeting of the foes sees the Bisons looking for the sixth win in the last eight contests against the Bruins, who were picked to win the Ohio Valley Conference in their first season in the league.

“I think it’s going to be a great atmosphere as always with two teams competing at a high level,” said Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson. “Usually when we get together to play, it’s electric.”

The two squads split the pair of meetings in the 2011-12 campaign with Lipscomb taking a come-from-behind 85-74 win at the Curb Event Center before the Bruins took an 84-58 victory at Allen Arena.

10-1 in home openers in the Division I era, Lipscomb returns just six players from a year ago. The Bisons will have to slow down the Bruins offense that averaged 80.9 points-per-game last season. BU senior guards Kerron Johnson (13.8 ppg) and Ian Clark (12.7 ppg) are the mainstays in the Belmont offense.

“They will be farther along than a lot of teams as far as offensive execution (at this point),” said Sanderson. “They have 10 guys back from last year’s basketball team. I would imagine they will do some things that are different but their overall philosophy and understanding their system offensively should come easier with having so many guys returning.”

Along with the ESPN3 broadcast, the game can be heard on the radio on 102.5 the Game with Jonathan Seamon, Jay Walton and Jared Revlett on the call. Limited tickets remain and can be purchased by visiting http://BeHerdLU.com or by calling 615-966-HERD (4373).